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In March, the weather was very beautiful in Southern California and our
friends Eric
and Laurie
took us out on their boat to Catalina
Island.
During our crossing we saw a migrating whale. It was trying to escape all the
attention that its huge body and tall spouts created. Several boats and jet skis
raced out to observe the whale, but it kept moving further and further away.
Then we spent a very casual afternoon exploring Catalina with a golf cart. We
went up and down the steep hills to some great views
 ,
the Wrigley Memorial, and had a late lunch by the waterfront. It was a very
relaxing day for us, away from the hustle and bustle of our lives.
Photo Gallery from Catalina
On the boat... |
...heading out to sea... |
...and couldn't be happier to get away. |
The town of Avalon on Catalina |
Casino Point, where we have been quite often to go diving |
A gorgeous view from the hills |
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Relaxing on the way back. |
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At the end of 2002, Jana was looking for a new car, as her current lease was
up this year. We looked at several car makers, and decided on a VOLVO S60 2.4T.
In addition to being a safe, reliable, comfortable and fun car to drive, VOLVO's
Overseas Delivery
Program was attractive to us. It allowed us to order the car through our
local dealer and pick it up at the VOLVO factory. In addition VOLVO provided us
with 2 free airline tickets and a night stay at the Radisson in Gothenburg.
So, here we are, at the VOLVO Factory Delivery Center with Jana's new car
 .
At first, we were hoping that VOLVO made a mistake and this car
would be ours, but after taken a first look at her new car, Jana fell in love
with it
 .
Although VOLVO offered us lunch and a factory tour in the afternoon, we
wanted to get going on our whirlwind tour through Europe. And we wanted to give
the new car a thorough introduction to the real world out there, not the
sheltered factory life. And what a real world it was. Scandinavia had one of the
coldest springs in a while, and when we arrived it was freezing cold, snowing
and icy rain. So, we tried to get out of there as fast as possible.
But before we left the cold, we stopped in Denmark and its capital
Copenhagen. Our first stop, after crossing from Sweden to Denmark via a
20-minute ferry, was Kronborgslot (Castle of Kronborg)
 .
It is said that this castle was Shakespeare's inspiration for
"Hamlet". Although he had never been for a visit, Shakespeare was
influenced by the legends of his days. This castle was used by Danish kings to
collect tolls from ships crossing between Sweden and Denmark on their way to the
rich cities of Northern Germany and the Baltic Sea.
Photo Gallery from Kronborgslot
Entrance to the "Hamlet" Castle |
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Jana listening attentively to the tour guide |
The Ballroom |
The Chapel |
...and the Dungeon |
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After spending a couple of hours at Kronborgslot, we continued our journey
to Copenhagen. We stayed for a couple of nights at the Marriott, where the staff
was very friendly and helpful. We received a very nice room, with a great view
(unfortunately the weather was still not very nice).
The next day we explored Copenhagen. We walked from our hotel to the city
hall, took a quick peak at the world-famous Tivoli amusement park (which we
visited in the evening), down to the canals in the harbor, and watched the
changing of the guards at the Royal Palace. The Marbled Cathedral, Churchill
Park, and the Little Mermaid (inspired by the Christian Anderson story) were
also on our list of attractions. After a short rest at the hotel we returned to
the Tivoli where we had dinner and rode some of the old-style merry-go-rounds
and roller coasters.
Photo Gallery from Copenhagen
City Hall |
Detail on the city hall walls |
Beauty and the Beast |
Main entrance to Tivoli |
Jana conquering one of her biggest fears |
Nyhaven houses at the harbor canals |
Guards at the Royal Palace |
The Marbled Cathedral |
An old church in Churchill Park |
The Little Mermaid
(and some other figure on a rock
 ) |
Side entrance to Tivoli |
Having fun with the dragon |
Evening at Tivoli |
The Peacock Stage |
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The following day we left Copenhagen and drove south towards Germany. We
crossed from Denmark to Germany with another ferry, and as the weather got
better and better, we decided to have lunch in Hamburg
 .
After lunch and another few hours of driving, we arrived in
 .
The same evening, we had a great Italian dinner in a historic warehouse.
Well, nearly all houses in downtown Amsterdam are historic warehouses, as we
learned the next day on our canal tour. We also strolled the streets of
Amsterdam, and in addition to historic houses had to visit the unique Red Light
District. Since it is not advisable to take pictures there at night, we can only
present pictures we took the next day - which is all the better, unless we
wanted to restrict our website to adults only.
After a quick tour of Amsterdam in the morning, we visited "miniature
Holland" at Zaanse
Schans. A large area has been setup and preserved to
showcase traditional Dutch sights and activities. Windmills, drawbridges,
cheese, wooden shoes, and canals - all elements were present here. We spent a
couple of hours here, but another one of Jana's favorite sights in Holland
called.
In the afternoon, we visited De Haar
Castle. It is one of the best preserved
castles in the Netherlands, and is used to this day as a summer entertainment
residence by its owners. During the time that the family is not staying at the
castle, it is open for tours, and so we took one.
Photo Gallery from Amsterdam, Zaanse Schans and De Haar
Castle
Historic warehouse on our canal tour in Amsterdam |
One of a few thousand houseboats on the canals |
The "Skinny Bridge" |
Amsterdam's Central Train Station |
Entrance to the Red Light District |
One of many entertainment houses |
Everything you ever wanted to know about it you can find here |
Symbol of the Red Light District - interesting during the day, but the
real action is at night |
But let's not leave the other "sin" of Amsterdam
unmentioned. |
Zaanse Schans |
Dutch Thumbelina |
There is just something about having big shoes |
Cheese factory |
Windmills to explore |
And we are exploring |
De Haar Castle |
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Just a little modeling (although not as long as he did) |
Marc's beautiful bride-to-be |
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Keukenhof was one of the main attractions for
Jana
 . The world-famous tulip
festival is held here every year in spring. Millions of tulips, daffodils, and
many other flowers are exhibited. It is definitely advisable to visit
in the mornings and on weekdays, as we saw long lines of people and cars when we
exited.
It was a beautiful spring day, and we walked through all the various gardens,
including an old-style green maze
 ,
the and expositions that Keukenhof offered. Unfortunately, this spring had been
unusually cold, and most of the tulips in the outdoor gardens were not open.
Jana was somewhat disappointed, but the smells
and colors
of the other flowers somewhat made up for the closed-up tulips.
Photo Gallery from Keukenhof
Welcome to Keukenhof |
Although we are here for the tulips... |
...other things, such as big shoes... |
...and even bigger shoes... |
...as well as water fountains... |
...white peacocks... |
...and windwills were explored. |
The perfect tulip! |
At the orchid expo |
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Enjoying the gardens... |
...and lakes. |
A tulip field just outside Keukenhof |
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After visiting the flowers at Keukenhof we drove into Belgium, and spent two
days in Antwerp and Bruges. We could not have found a better place to stay. The
Hilton in Antwerp
was right in the middle of Antwerp's old town. The small, one-way streets made
it a little challenge to get to the parking garage every time, but being able to
stroll through historic plazas and rows of medieval houses made it all
worthwhile.
We spent the afternoon in Antwerp by exploring the inner city. At first, we
took a horse-drawn carriage ride
around town. Then we explored some of the sights by foot. We visited the
cathedral
and the town's first castle
 .
From there we saw some older houses
 ,
not realizing that one of them would serve as the drop off point for Jana's car
a couple of days later. That evening we sat outdoors at a Greek restaurant that
served excellent food, and the service was very personable.
The following day, we visited the medieval town of Bruges. The inner city has
been preserved over many centuries, as it had stayed virtually untouched from
any fires or wars. One of Bruges' main attraction was the town's Belfry
 .
We climbed the 360+ steps, which started off being very wide, and got narrower
and narrower, so that you had to squeeze against the walls to let people pass.
But the reward was a spectacular view of the inner city
 .
After this exercise, it was time for a little less strenuous sight seeing,
and so we hopped onto one of the frequent canal tours. We passed under very old
bridges
and saw most of the inner city attractions. Another, important element of the
visit to Bruges was the need to shop for Christmas ornaments at the Käthe
Wohlfahrt store
 .
That evening, we were also very happy to be able to meet with our friends Bettina
and Daniel
 ,
who drove from Brussels to have dinner with us. It had been nearly 18 months
since we last saw each other, and we had a great time at a very good Italian
restaurant.
Photo Gallery from Antwerp and Bruges
Antwerp's City Hall |
The Cathedral (note the McDonald's in front - you just can't escape
them) |
The Groote Markt (the Large Market) |
The Cathedral and a fountain symbolizing Antwerp's name (which is a
form of "hant werpen" - meaning hand throwing) |
Jana is ready to go...the horse...a different story. |
Bruges' Market Place |
Canal tour |
Well-preserved medieval house |
Famous Michelangelo statue "Madonna with Child" |
Marc's ice cream truck |
Daniel, Marc and Bettina |
Happy to be together and with our friends |
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Unfortunately, we had to drop the car off a couple of days earlier than
planned due to Easter holidays in Germany. Marc's mom drove to Antwerp and
picked us up for our last stop on our tour: Marc's family in Germany.
We took a scenic drive through the Ardennes in eastern Belgium, crossed over
into Germany near Trier and made our way to Stuttgart. When we arrived, we were
greeted by Leoni
 ,
Marc's niece, who had grown up to be an outgoing, energetic girl. The next day,
we just played around
 ,
and Leoni tried on clothes that we brought along
 .
She will also be the flower girl at our
wedding, and we had the flower girl dress with us for her to try on
 .
She loved it, and Anke had to hide it very quickly, so that it stays in good
shape for the wedding. Luckily for us, her friend Dennis
was there, so that her attention could be diverted from the dress.
The last day of our visit was Good Friday, and the family (Anke, Marc's mom,
Lars, Marc and Jana) decided to move the Easter celebrations forward. So, we got
up in the morning and started hunting for Easter eggs
 .
But in this case, the Easter eggs were presents for all of us, although mostly
for Leoni who had a lot of fun looking for them. She got her own personal
suitcase for her trip to America and her first big-girl bike
(with no training wheels!).
In the afternoon, our friends Marcus
and Gigi came to visit with their daughter Kim
 .
After a short introductory period, the two girls started playing together as if
they had known each other all their lives
 .
We all sat down for coffee and cake, when Marc's aunt and uncle stopped by
unexpectedly, and Marc's dad Frank also returned early from his ski vacation to
spend some time with us. It became a large outdoor garden fest
 .
The festivities ended in a scooter race down the street
 .
Photo Gallery from Easter Celebrations
Leoni on the hunt for the "Easter Eggs" with assistance from
Cindy |
And she found one. |
Marc's grandpa observes the hustle and bustle |
Leoni decides to be a painter |
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Kim is learning roller skating from Gigi |
Leoni and Lars are taking the scooter for a spin |
Kim is trying it all by herself |
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We were sad to return from our whirlwind tour across 5 countries, but we were
happy to be able to see our family and some of our friends.
Now, we are simply waiting for Jana's car to arrive in the United States and
that we receive the call from our dealer "Your car is here".
In April, our friend Jim
organized an outing to the Los
Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) with us and our friends Vicky
and James. A special exhibit for Ansel Adams' 100th birthday and "Sargent
in Italy" were shown at the museum. We also took a general museum tour,
walked through the permanent Japanese exhibits and went to lunch at the
country's first "Marie
Callendar's" restaurant on LA's Magical Mile. In between the museum and
the restaurant are the La Brea
Tar Pits, where many fossiled bones have been unearthed. It was funny to
find such a prehistoric place in between the hustle and bustle of Los Angeles.
Photo Gallery from LACMA
Jana and Jim are really looking forward to visiting the museum |
Entrance to the museum complex |
West wing of the museum complex |
One of several beautiful statues in the museum garden...and some metal
thing in the background. |
The main section of the museum complex |
Just being happy to be out and about |
The Japanese House |
Inside the Japanese House |
One of the many Japanese exhibits |
Vicky, Jim, Jana and James |
Exhibit in the modern art collection |
One of Marc's favorite artists - Magritte - was also on exhibit here. |
The Japanese House at LACMA in the background. The La Brea Tar Pits in
the foreground. |
Another section of the La Brea Tar Pits |
Lunch at the first Marie Callendar's |
For Thanksgiving, we decided that it was time to explore our nearby tourist
attraction - Los Angeles. We booked ourselves into the Beverly Hills Hilton and
took a tour of all the major tourist attractions in the "City of the Angels".
Photo Gallery from Los Angeles Trip
Welcome to Beverly Hills |
Beverly Hills City Hall (remember Beverly Hills Cop?
) |
The "Witches House" in Beverly Hills |
The Beverly Hills Hotel |
Hollywood Sign |
Grauman's Chinese Theatre |
Cary Grant's hands and footprints |
Arnold.... |
Hollywood Walk of Stars |
Again....Jana's Favorite |
Two Beauties |
Barbarian - Terminator - Governor Schwarzenegger |
It was a must-see musical in Hollywood |
Warner Brothers Studios |
... and VIP Tour |
The Man's a Mystery |
Clothes from the set of "Friends" |
This plaza has seen many movies |
... and so has this squirrel |
"The Standard" Hotel in Hollywood |
Greystone Mansion |
Fountain at Greystone Mansion |
Rodeo Drive |
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